Kidnapped, Unfortunately

Chapter Twenty Six

I woke up to Pancake enthusiastically licking me face.

I yelped, and pushed the heavy dog away, ending the assault on my face.

He was heavy though, so his body remained planted in the same spot, only his head moving back a little.

Pancake wagged his tail happily as I stroked his fur for a while, and then I pulled away.

"You know what today is, don't you?" I sighed, absently rubbing my knuckles against his head.

He barked once, and I took that as a yes.

It was weird, spending Christmas without my family. I missed them. Who knows where they thought I was now. The letter had been convincing, but I still had hope that they saw through it.

I stared at the door, thinking.

I'd been here for what- a couple weeks maybe?

And nothing had happened. I was beginning to wonder if they actually had a plan, because it seems like they had just impulsively Kidnapped two girls for the fun of it, with no end goal whatsoever.

Why, I had no idea, but I seriously doubted they were planning on selling us or holding us for ransom.

Aileen was right. We needed to leave soon.

"Pancake," I spoke to the dog who had absolutely no idea what I was saying. "Looks like it's time to bounce."

He barked loudly, placing a paw on my arm.

I nodded solemnly. "Exactly."

Just then the door opened, revealing a very excited Carson. "Rise and shiiiinnee!"

"Noooo," I turned over and moaned into my pillow.

"Yes," He said, coming over and sitting on the bed. "Today is an exciting day."

"Is it my birthday?"

"Nope. It's Christmas Eve."

I groaned again into my pillow, and without raising my head to look, gave him a hard shove.

With a surprised noise, I heard him toppled off of the bed.

Pancake jumped up, startled, I felt the bed shift as he hopped off to join Carson on the floor.

"Ouch," He cried indignantly. "That is not the Christmas spirit."

I rolled my eyes, before turning onto my back and sitting up. "What if I don't want to do anything today? What if I just want to lay here and do absolutely nothing?"

"On normal days, I'd say 'your wish is my command,' but today I say 'get moving.'"

I blew out an annoyed breath. At the moment, I wanted nothing more than to mourn the time I'd spent here without my family, and the money I'd be loosing by missing this much school.

That does it. For Christmas, I want cash.

"Have you written your letter yet?" Carson asked in curiosity.

"Nope," I popped the P. "Why? Do you have any paper?"

"Yes, but it's a tradition that we all do it together at the breakfast table," He explained.

I narrowed my eyes at him. This sounded like utter BS.

But I went along with it. "Fine. I'm hungry anyway."

I pushed myself off the bed and began making my way toward the door.

Everyone was already in the kitchen, minus Pancake, and there was a stack on of colored construction paper and various markers in the middle of the table.

"I don't care what you think!" Jacob was saying to Aileen. "I put cookies next to the chimney."

"That's where Santa comes in anyway," Camille added.

"Someone came down my chimney once," Aileen lamented. "It wasn't Santa."

"What neighborhood do you live in?" I exclaimed, arriving at the table and pulling out a chair.

"The neighborHOOD," She answered in all seriousness.

I sat down and reached for the blue piece of construction paper, and Carson followed my lead, taking the green one.

Aileen and Jacob both reached for the red one at the same time, and when they grabbed either end, they glared at each other.

"Hands off," said Aileen. "It's mine."

"I had it first," Jacob protested.

"No!"

They both began pulling on it. Finally, it came to the point where it just ripped, and they were each holding a half.

"Now look what you've done!"

"You're the one who ripped it!"

"Guys, just get another," Camille said, rolling her eyes and writing on her orange paper.

They sighed, but didn't argue.

Then, Aileen and Jacob both reached for the purple paper.

"Stop copying me!" Jacob complained.

"You stop!"

"Enough!" I exclaimed, sick of their arguing. "Aileen, you take the black one. Jacob, take the yellow one."

They muttered to themselves and begrudgingly snatched the papers from the middle.

"I hate yellow," Jacob grumbled.

Finally, it was peaceful, and I began writing my letter.

Dear Santa,

So, I'm kinda in a tough spot right now. These two guys are holding me hostage, and it's been hard. One of them never stops arguing and the other can't even draw people. So you see my problem here. This Christmas, I want a couple things. To see my family, to escape, and cash.

I then smiled, satisfied.

"What are you asking for?" I turned to Jacob and asked.

He shrugged. "The usual. A car, socks, a girlfriend."

"AHA!" She shouted, jumping up and pointing at him.

Jacob looked startled. "What?"

"You said what you wanted out loud! Now it won't come true," Aileen told him smugly.

His eyes bulged. "What?! CARSON!"

Carson sighed, and spoke without looking up. "That's only true for wishes."

"Yeah!" Jacob put in.

I rolled my eyes, and continued writing.